citrus

Learn from Santa Clara County Master Gardeners how to select, plant and maintain healthy, ornamental citrus.  With a little planning, you can harvest citrus year-round from your own yard.  Many citrus grow well in containers as well as in the ground.  These plants are among the most rewarding to grow in California.

Every garden should have a citrus tree - from lemon to tangerine, from grapefruit to kumquat, the variety is mind-boggling.  Our climate is perfect for growing citrus and they are among the easiest plants to take care of.  There's nothing like a fresh-picked orange or fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.  A list of varieties that do well in our area and that have been shown to have superior taste, production and lasting characteristics (how long you can store them) will be distributed.

Crazy For Citrus Cookbook Available!

The revised edition of our popular citrus cookbook is now available. This new edition includes color and additional recipes in each of the categories: Drinks, Soups & Starters, Salads, Mains & Sides, Quick Breads, Sauces, Marinades & Relishes and Desserts. There is a resource page and tips for growing citrus year-round in Santa Clara County.

Crazy for Citrus is the answer for what to do with all the wonderful citrus growing in your backyard.

The cookbook is available now at the Master Gardener office (1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, San Jose). The $15.00 price includes tax.

Nancy Garrison, Former Urban Horticulture Program Coordinator

Time of Year	Variety
Dec - Feb	Washington Navel Satsuma Mandarin
Jan - Feb	Most citrus
Feb - spring	Minneola Tangelo Trovita Oranges
Late spring - early fall	Lane Late Navel Orange
June - Nov	Valencia
Late summer - early winter	Bearss limes
Year-round	Lemons

My interest and, truly, my passion for home fruit gardening and citrus growing has always been focused on identifying varieties that have superior flavor, adaptability to this area and that can produce fruit for fresh eating and juicing year round. In this article I will suggest a selection of citrus that meet these criteria, along with some crucial cultural tips that should allow for more successful production of flavorful, abundant citrus fruit.

My main sources of information and knowledge about citrus come from a handful of people with whom I've had the privilege and pleasure of interacting and places I've been able to visit to see and taste the fruit as well as growing some of my own for the last 18 years at home. Early in my career with Cooperative Extension, I made a trip to the Lindcove U.C. Research and Extension Center in Exeter California, which is a hotbed for citrus research. The thrill and excitement of seeing and tasting hundreds of varieties of citrus being grown and field evaluated contributed greatly to my fascination and appreciation for this exceptional fruit that we in California are so fortunate to be able to grow.